Right Now, Matthew Mayich Needs Our Prayers

The hockey world is hurting over the tragedy involving Matthew Mayich, a 21-year-old Arizona State defenseman and St. Louis Blues draft pick. Matthew collapsed during an outdoor team workout on August 20 and remains hospitalized in critical condition with his family beside him. The latest update provided by his family’s representatives is heartbreaking, and Arizona State continues to review the circumstances surrounding what happened. (ESPN, FOX 10 Phoenix)

There will be a time for questions to be answered and facts to be carefully examined. Right now, however, this is not a moment for those of us outside the situation to point fingers, assign blame or turn another family’s suffering into an argument. This is a young man fighting for his life. It is a family living through an unimaginable nightmare and a group of teammates, coaches, friends and members of the Arizona State community attempting to process something none of them expected.

The hockey community is at its best when it becomes larger than teams, leagues and rivalries. Today, Matthew Mayich is one of our own. Please pray for Matthew, for his parents and loved ones, for the athletes surrounding the ASU program and for every person carrying the weight of this tragedy. May they feel our love, find strength in one another and hold tightly to hope—even in the darkest and most difficult hour.

By Andrew Trimble